There, at least dozens of names adorn the two murals depicting Pleasant Valley’s favorite pastimes and businesses alongside Fort Dodge icons.

And if your name didn’t make the first two murals, don’t file your complaint just yet, the president of the Pleasant Valley Awareness Committee advised — there are more works of art on the way.

Washington said that with the park update and the new murals, traffic to the area has tripled.

“I knew folks were going to come to see it,” Washington said, but the new traffic flow was more than she expected. “Traffic can get pretty busy around Pleasant Valley.”

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
A second mural under the bridge at Meriwether Drive and 11th Avenue Southwest depicts flowers and lists names of people, businesses and groups in the community who have made a positive impact on Fort Dodge.

What’s more is that the murals along Seventh Street near Meriwether Drive and 11th Avenue Southwest are becoming a destination in their own right, particularly as a backdrop for photography — a massive compliment to any piece of public art.

The idea started over a year ago with Councilman Terry Moehnke.

“I looked at the wall and I knew murals had been done in other communities on walls like that,” he said. “We’d been working with the Pleasant Valley Awareness group for some time restoring neighborhood pride, and thought having a mural with some of the past accomplishments and landmarks of the Pleasant Valley area would look great.”

But unlike other similar projects, this was the first one to receive approval from the Iowa Department of Transportation for commission on a state-owned bridge.

“My request was that it have a lot of bright colors,” Moehnke said. “This is just a way to brighten and give community members a little bit of pride in the community.”

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
A second mural under the bridge at Meriwether Drive and 11th Avenue Southwest depicts flowers and lists names of people, businesses and groups in the community who have made a positive impact on Fort Dodge.

And with bright colors, the mural adds new dimensions to what Washington refers to as the “melting pot of Fort Dodge,” with icons valued by the diverse community that has inhabited it over the decades.

“You see all the diversity again,” Washington said, amidst fond memories embraced by the committee and the artists, T’Vontis Gully, of Waterloo, and Dana Harrison, of Jefferson.

In that sense, she said the mural is a milestone that shows how far Fort Dodge has come and how united it is in its vision going forward.

“It shows that everyone has the same vision, that everyone is headed in the same direction,” said Washington.

Moehnke credits the pair for doing such a good job on bringing the vision to life on the murals, the second of which was completed last week after about six weeks of painting.

And locals can rest easy knowing that a clear coat protects the art from graffiti, a requirement that came from the Iowa DOT.

“The images were chosen not only by the committee, but through the artist’s eyes,” she said. “It was important for us to have local artists who were tied and connected and rooted in Pleasant Valley. Growing up, these are the things they remembered as well.”

For Washington, Sandy’s Market sticks out.

“That was the meeting place,” she said, where folks would pop a coin in the jukebox to dance in the aisles while they shopped or picked up some cold cuts.

The basketball hoop silhouette on the wall reminds her of the Hoopla games that brought folks from all over to dribble on the court.

The school in the background, which once held seven grades from houses nearby, was the one she didn’t get to go to as Fort Dodge schools became more integrated and children were bussed to other elementary schools.

“Each name on the wall has impacted me in one way or another,” Washington said. “We would not be who we are today without each and every one on the wall.”

And they’re all there, as much as space allows for, from influential African-Americans that paved a foundation for people of color in Fort Dodge to the folks that made the mural’s splash of color possible.

“We are really going to try to thank everyone, and we do mean everyone,” she said. “Just the way the community has come together to make this all happen is beautiful.”

With the amount of work involved, there was plenty of opportunity to jump ship.

The Pleasant Valley Awareness Committee’s top priority going forward remains cleaning up and beautifying the neighborhood while giving back to the residents that make it a place to be proud of.

“It shows we love our community and we’re here to do what we can,” Washington added. “We came out with a beautiful piece that everyone can be proud of.”